A review by lexigoyette
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
5.0
Intersectional feminism at its best. Roxane Gay is a powerful voice of our generation. Gay doesn't put herself on a pedestal; in fact, she does the opposite, considering herself a self-declared "bad feminist," who listens to rap music that degrades women, loves the color pink, and doesn't understand how cars work.
Although feminism was the central theme of the collection, Gay included some extremely thought-provoking essays about race in America. In "A Tale of Two Profiles," she compares the media portrayal of Trayvon Martin (a victim of violent crime, who was villainized by the popular media) with that of Dzohokhar Tsarnaev (one of the men who plotted the Boston Marathon bombing, who was featured in a Rolling Stone magazine cover image). White serial killers receive documentaries, biographies, and news stories unpacking the "why" behind their murders, while black criminals are simply condemned as thugs.
Even though the collection was published four years ago, nearly everything still rings true and relevant, with the exceptions of:
-The legalization of gay marriage in all 50 states in 2015. Yay!
-Bill Cosby simply being a "crazy" guy. Oh, Roxane, please tell me you wrote that essay before mid-2014.
Although feminism was the central theme of the collection, Gay included some extremely thought-provoking essays about race in America. In "A Tale of Two Profiles," she compares the media portrayal of Trayvon Martin (a victim of violent crime, who was villainized by the popular media) with that of Dzohokhar Tsarnaev (one of the men who plotted the Boston Marathon bombing, who was featured in a Rolling Stone magazine cover image). White serial killers receive documentaries, biographies, and news stories unpacking the "why" behind their murders, while black criminals are simply condemned as thugs.
Even though the collection was published four years ago, nearly everything still rings true and relevant, with the exceptions of:
-The legalization of gay marriage in all 50 states in 2015. Yay!
-Bill Cosby simply being a "crazy" guy. Oh, Roxane, please tell me you wrote that essay before mid-2014.